Prosecutor explains why head of Mykolaiv MSEC has not yet been served with suspicion in case of illegal income
The head of the Medical and Social Expert Commission (MSEC) in Mykolaiv region, who was found to have significant undeclared assets, has not yet received the official status of a suspect.
The reason for the delay is that the investigation is still ongoing. This was announced by the acting head of the Mykolaiv Regional Prosecutor’s Office, Denys Falchenko, Ukrinform reports.
Falchenko explained that in order to file a suspicion, it is necessary to carefully collect all the evidence and assess the legitimacy of the charges. The SBU is currently investigating the case.
On 22 October, law enforcement officers searched the apartment of the head of the MSEC and her son as part of an investigation into an alleged scheme to evade mobilisation.As a result, $450,000 and a collection of jewellery were seized.
The investigation showed that the head of the MSEC kept a significant part of the jewellery in various places, including the apartment of her son, a Russian citizen who is an intern at a medical university. He was found to have a Russian passport issued by the Russian consulate in Odesa before the war.
Scandals around the MSEC
In early October, a similar scandal erupted in the Khmelnytsky region, where the head of the MSEC, Tetyana Krupa, and her son, the head of the regional pension fund, Oleksandr Krupa, were caught with multimillion-dollar illegal income.
Later it turned out that this corruption scheme was known to local law enforcement agencies, which could have been involved in it themselves. As a result of the scandal, inspections of the MSEC and other officials were launched in Khmelnytsky region, and the Ministry of Health cancelled the disability status of 74 people liable for military service. In addition, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy initiated a series of NSDC decisions to restore justice.
Following these developments, Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin resigned, and the current structure of the MSEC is to be dismantled by the end of the year. The government has presented a solution to digitalise all processes at the MSEC.
The Pension Fund is cooperating with the SBI, the National Police and the SBU to verify disability pension payments among prosecutors and officials, and the President has instructed the NACP to prepare draft laws that would grant the MSEC law enforcement status and increase liability for illicit enrichment.
